When I was invited to speak at The Impact Showcase, I was asked a simple question: “What impact have you had this year?” I knew immediately what I wanted to talk about. Not a project. Not a metric. A community.

Last December I decided to build the room I could not find. A place where bold, brilliant, values-driven women could come together without needing to perform or pretend. A place where your worth was not defined by your turnover or your audience size, but by the difference you make.

So I opened a Zoom room in January…

I’m Rachel Dunford, an impact specialist for organisations and small businesses. I am also someone who has learned that the success of any community is rarely about how many people join it. It is about who joins it.

Most of us know what it feels like to be in a room that simply is not our room. Nothing is wrong and nobody has behaved badly. It is just not the place where you feel able to settle. You realise, quite gently, that not all rooms are for all people.

That is why I hold a view that some people hesitate to say out loud. A community cannot be for everyone if it wants to be meaningful. It is not about exclusivity. It is about clarity.

What happens when you gather women who share values rather than just interests…

Why testimonials are not enough

Most businesses collect testimonials because they know they should. You finish a project, send a short form, and receive a few polite lines.

“It was great.”

“I really enjoyed working with you.”

This is lovely to read, of course. But can you use it to make key decisions about where to go next in your business? Not really. Testimonials tell you that someone liked the experience. They do not tell you what changed for them, why they chose you, or how they describe your work when you are not in the room.

The REAL gold sits in the detail - the sort of detail that was missing in the above examples. It sits in understanding the transformation your clients experienced, and not simply the transaction they paid for.

If you’ve been running a business for a while, chances are you’ve gathered a fair bit of client feedback - testimonials, kind DMs, thank-you emails, feedback forms. But what most people don’t do is use that feedback strategically, and it's left gathering dust in a folder somewhere or strewn across your laptop, in random places!

But when you only use feedback as reassurance, you miss its real value.

Client feedback is one of the most practical tools you have. It shows what is working well, what matters most to the people you support, and where there may be opportunities to improve or expand your offer. It gives you the words and evidence you need to speak about your work with confidence.

I’m Rachel Dunford, a multi award-winning Impact Specialist. I help organisations, charities and small businesses to understand and measure the difference they make - not just in numbers, but in real, human terms, relating to the change they create.

Because here’s something I’ve learned from over a decade of doing this work: revenue doesn’t tell the whole story of success.

It’s an easy metric to reach for - it’s tangible, trackable, and universally recognised. But it’s only one part of a much bigger picture.